Otto Tief's government: Independence, 47 years in the making
25.09.2008 | Mart Laar | English news
On Sept. 18, 1944, the last legal prime minister of the Republic of Estonia, Juri Uluots, acting president, summoned Otto Tief and said, "It is time! The Germans are withdrawing from Estonia. Summon the members of the government and get to work." It was time, indeed. The German forces were leaving Estonia, the front at Emajogi River had been broken, and the Red Army could have reached Tallinn at any moment. Just like in 1918, the moment in which those who are small in number proclaim their will had to be taken advantage of in the battle between two great powers.
The preparations for the government of the republic had been made long ago - in fact, this was the objective of national resistance from the very beginning. If at some moments, the hope was cherished that the government to be created could manage to hold power in its grasp for a longer period, then it was clear in September 1944 that Estonia had been left alone, and the government would be short-lived. Nevertheless, for the future of Estonia, it was regarded as decisively important whether in this war too, the Republic of Estonia would manage to confirm its continuation and its will to stand for the independence of Estonia, instead of bowing to the Nazi or Communist terror.
As the composition of the government had already been agreed upon in August, it did not take much time to form it. The government included J. Holberg (later still left out of the government), R. Penno, H. Partelpoeg, J. Klesment, H. Maandi, A. Susi, A. Rei, O. Gustavson, J. Pikkov, E. Inglis, J. Kaarlimae and V. Sumberg. Colonel J. Maide was appointed commander-in-chief of the armies.
At a government meeting on Sept. 19, in the Eesti Maapank building at Sakala Street, Tief announced the assumption of office of the new government. Troops known as the Pitka boys, led by Adm. J. Pitka, assumed authority in several parts of the city, preventing the Germans from blowing up strategic objects. The 2nd battalion of the Finnish boys, brought in front of Tallinn for defense, prevented the Germans from attacking the plants in Maardu, engaging in a skirmish with the German units that were sent to "call them to order." In the afternoon of Sept. 20, a blue, black and white flag was hoisted atop the Pikk Hermann Tower. This enthralled the people but angered the Germans. In the city, conflicts arose between the Estonian and German soldiers.
Soon, the Germans withdrew to the port and devoted their attention to the evacuation of their units.
Regardless of the rise in spirits that accompanied the hoisting of the blue, black and white flag, the situation was hopeless. At the government meeting held on the evening of Sept. 20, Tief announced that the government would begin performing its duties. Tief regarded it important to print and distribute an issue of the State Gazette with the composition of the government and the declaration, thus making the formation of the government legal. At the same time, Tief found that since the government did not have the power to protect Tallinn, he would have to leave Estonia to continue the fight for Estonian freedom abroad.
The assumption of office of the government of the republic was also declared on the radio, and foreign countries were informed. With that, the government had achieved its goal. Some of the modern Russian historians have found that it was "too little." Such an attitude is all the more cynical in that without the intervention of the tanks of the Red Army, the government would have lasted a lot longer. Tief's government would have been able to cope with the German forces; it was the Red Army invading the country that brought an end to its activities. It must be remembered that in February 1918, the activity of the Rescue Committee was not much more comprehensive, but it was enough to establish a foundation for the independence of Estonia.
Aleksandr Djukov, who has examined the activities of Tief's government in more detail, presents some clear falsifications in his approach (Velikaja Obolgannaja voina - 2. Moscow 2008, pp. 269-276, which, however, are not hard to expose. To show that it was an institution established by the German occupation forces and following the orders thereof, Djukov states, for example, that Tief's government was formed on Aug. 18, not Sept. 18, 1944. Second, Djukov declares that Tallinn was "liberated" in battles with the German units who had lost up to 600 men who fell here. Actually, the Red Army did not have any contact in the form of battle with the German units in Tallinn; on Sept. 22-23, the Red Army was faced by Estonian units around Tallinn. Djukov also ignores the evidence of the conflicts between the Estonian and German soldiers.
On Sept. 21, most of the members of Tief's government left Tallinn. Only Tief, along with a few closer colleagues, remained, and then left the city the next morning, right before the arrival of the tank units of the Red Army. The Red Army occupied Tallinn without much resistance and replaced the blue, black and white atop the Pikk Hermann Tower with the red flag - a fact that Djukov still ignores, regardless of numerous testimonies. According to Djukov, the Estonian flag was waving atop the tower along with the German flag - so it was indeed hoisted on the morning of Sept. 21, but not on Sept. 22.
Djukov does not write anything about the resistance to the Red Army of the soldiers under Tief, either. At Nomme, Paaskula, Keila, Harudevahe, Kose, Kumna intersection, Risti and Marjamaa, the Estonian soldiers fighting under the blue, black and white flag put up the last resistance to the Soviets, allowing tens of thousands of refugees to escape from their grasp. During the following months, the Soviet security units arrested most of the members of the government and closer colleagues. Some of them were executed, but most were sent to the prison camps in Siberia for a longer period. Today, the Russian public prosecutor's office still refuses to rehabilitate the members of Tief's government.
In 1918, it took nine months from the declaration of independence to the actual enforcement. This time, it took 47 years: the moment arrived in 1991. It would hardly have gone that way if, in 1944, there had not been men who, in spite of the hopeless situation, did something simple and clear for the Estonian state: performed their duty. This is the history that we have no reason to be ashamed of. This is the history that we have to tell the world. Because if we do not, no one will.
Source: The Baltic Times
